Many of us eat some kind of trail mix during the hiking day. You can buy it premade in many varieties, or you can buy exactly the ingredients you like most and make your own mix. The only limit is your imagination and what you can afford.

I just finished putting together a big batch of mix for the upcoming summer. Just for fun, I thought I'd ask what other forumites's trail mix looks like. Are you a traditionalist who only eats plain GORP (Good Old Raisins and Peanuts), or an everything and the kitchen-sink trail mixer, or an exoticist who nibbles roasted edmame with papaya bits, or a purist who must have all-organic or nothing? Reveal your preferences here!

I recalled something like this thread being launched in the past, but I turned the crank on the Search about six or seven times, with variations, and couldn't locate it. So it would probably be tough for anyone else to revisit it now.

Trail mix depends on my mood and what I have on hand. Sometimes I buy Karr's Sweet and Salty mix from a "big box" store, others I contoct something in mykitchen. "Concotions" might include pineapple bits, apple, banana, raisins, craisins or other fruits, soy nuts, peanuts, walnuts, almonds, Cheerios, M&Ms or chocolate chips, and even coffee beans for an AM jolt. How much and what really is mood-driven, but coffee beans do seem to go well with craisins and dark chocolate...

I just buy the Cajun Trail mix that Wal Mart sells. If I am in a Fresh Market I will pick up some wasabi peas to add to it. Just be careful as you can crack a tooth on the peas...don't ask how I know..lol

I'm not very fond of trail mix, and most for me are too salty. Even while backpacking, I end up retaining fluid if I eat a lot of salt. Also, I long ago got used to eating a diet low in salt and learned to dislike salty foods (that dates back to my childbearing days when I basically couldn't eat salt during pregnancy).

I buy nuts, mostly unsalted, in bulk in the Fred Meyer health food section, and dump a little of each kind (almonds, walnuts, cashews, peanuts, hazelnuts) in a sandwich bag and add dried fruit for each day's snack/lunch. On a long trip (more than 7 days), the fruit will be freeze-dried, to save weight.

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May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view--E. Abbey

Coffee beans sounds a good idea, particularly for breakfast. Only yesterday we were discussing improvements for trail food. High calorific value per ounce and convenience would be obtained by nut butter filled M&Ms. I suppose peanut butter would suffice, but the food snob in me says almond butter.

Peanut M&Ms are definitely an excellent quick acting anti-bonk device. They have worked miracles for me.

OTOH, I also recall dates being a great source of energy when you snack on 2 or 3 after lunch. And even though I was never much of a milk drinker to begin with, and especially not powdered milk, when I would lag in the afternoon (on a long trip I did many moons ago), a water bottle full of reconstituted powdered milk was like manna from heaven. You can turn up your nose if you want, but it tasted delicious, and I had energy to spare afterwards. Yes, powdered milk. Not Nido or anything special, just plain old yucky powdered milk. You'd be amazed what tastes good when your body needs it...